Kindling the Soul
by ArmoredDragonite
Summary: What happens when a 19 year old IT major abandons her degree and decides to travel the world of pokémon? New challenges will come in her way as she reevaluates her life and tries to find her purpose, along the way she will meet friends and rivals alike. A new evil is also causing havoc around the pokémon world, how is all of this connected? Read and find out. Minor Advanceshipping.
**Hello everyone this is ArmoredDragonite, without any question on why I discontinued my last story, well let me tell you, it was because I had severe writer's block and couldn't move forward but this story is the one which will surely be completed, the OCs from my last story will be used on different points here, so sit back, read and enjoy. Don't forget to Favorite and Follow!
**

* * *

I woke up to the sound of loud music emitting through my phone and echoing across my room. _The Reckless and the brave._ A song by All time low, not my "all time" favorite song but it was always loud enough to wake me up. I turned of the song and checked the time on my phone.

7 am. I had class in half an hour. I didn't want to go, I was tired, desolated. At just the age of nineteen I was into the final semester of my IT degree, and my future was as equivocal as my past was vague. I got up and took the only pokéball I had, I clicked the button in the middle and after a flash the beautiful dog like pokémon appeared with a smile.

"Soool!" It roared.

"Hello boy, you must be hungry." I said to my only pokémon with a smirk. He nodded and licked my face with a cheerful smile, as I sighed.

Yeah I was never into pokémon, never received a starter, this Absol was my dad's, who gave it to me so I could have some protection and also a familiar face, Absol did love me and I was found of him even when I was little and still am, I love this drooling, licking and shitting creature. My one true dream was always to excel in the field of technology and innovations and now I'm not even sure about this anymore.

The last few years of my life have been horrendous, I was in a relationship with a guy who loved me and who I loved, but no matter what I did, it was never good enough for him, he always criticized me and rarely appreciated me and the pathetic thing is that I never had the guts to finish the relationship, and just because of my cowardice and lack of judgement, I've lost all the people who were close to me, all my friends, all the people who loved me even though I was a piece of shit. But one day I had enough, the constant bickering and ranting snapped me into two and I ended it there, it has been six months since I broke up with the man I once called the love of my life and everyday since then I've been through hell. And in the process I've also lost the one person who never judged me and who was always there for me, I lost my best friend, it's been an year since we stopped talking. Life is strange, you end up losing the people you never ever want to lose. It's actually pretty funny how us humans make up plans and life takes us on a different route. It was the same with me, follow my dream, fall in love, get married but things aren't that simple now even in my final semester I do not want to continue. What do I wanna do? I honestly have no idea.

After feeding my Absol I washed myself and of course brushed my long brunette hair, then I got ready for class. Before heading to the class I headed down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I was a student at CIT which was short for Cherrygrove Institute of Technology. One of the most prestigious universities in the modern world, they had an acceptance rate of 2.5%.

After getting some waffles with maple syrup and an espresso I sat down to eat, I directed my attention towards the giant 60 inch flat screen on the wall.

 _"Coming up next we have a little exhibition match before the start of the Pok_ émon _World Championship which begin in August, so I'll advise viewers to stay tuned because you're gonna love this!"_ The woman on the tv who was in her late twenties exclaimed with exuberance _._

 _"Flygon Dragon Claw!"_ A red haired man who was also wearing a peculiar cape ordered his pokémon, of course the whole world knew who this guy was. Lance Stevens. The Dragon Master. The current Johto Champion. Although he was defeated a few years ago by a trainer who never decided to accept the post but since then Lance has retained his position each year.

 _"Hydreigon use Dark Pulse."_ The other trainer commanded calmly, and just by looking at his face I recognized who he was. My eyes became moist as i felt them water up but I quickly wiped them clean, he seemed more mature physically, a stubble covered his face as his jaw line along with his Adam's apple became more prominent over the course of an year.

Flygon evaded the attacked and appeared behind the Dark dragon to land a hit on it but the dark dragon managed to escape with its ferocious agility.

"So this is what a real pokémon battle is like." I muttered to myself.

I always saw his battles on tv, but rarely paid much attention cause mostly he did win them, out of elite four and champion battles I only managed to watch the last battle between his Dragonite and Lance's , which Lance lost.

As both pokémon exchanged blows, I felt something burning up inside of me, like a fire being ignited, I felt my skin tighten. The look of intensity in the brown haired trainer's eyes got me excited, this feeling was uncanny. Did I have a thing for pokémon battling? I asked myself mentally while the dark colored dragon unleashed a vortex of blue energy which its trainer called Dragon Pulse and the green dragon replied by unleashing a burst of green energy from its mouth, which was Dragon Breath. It was remarkable how much fast both of these pokémon were, they were on another level, after 7 minutes of battling both trainers returned their pokémon to their respected balls.

 _"And that was the exhibition match! Be sure to tune into the Pok_ émon _World Championships, which began a few months from now, live from Atlantis Island! Tickets are available on the sites mentioned on your screens, stay tuned, up next we have news on the new venue of the Johto Ribbon Cup, only on Pok_ é _Sports 1!"_

Pokémon battles, I thought again. I dunno, I just recently turned 19, aren't I too old to start travelling a region and earning badges? But then again I'll get to travel, see beautiful places, experience foreign cultures. My vehemence for travelling has always been profound. I have always as a child longed to see mountains, glaciers and snow caped peaks, feel the cool breeze blowing against my face as I climb up the steep and dangerous slopes, I always knew I would do this one day but as an explorer not as a Pokémon trainer. I would have to travel all the way to New Bark Town to get my starter, I can take the train there. But what about my final semester? I can't leave my degree hanging. Or can I? Am I satisfied with where I am? No I'm not, I'm not even happy. I sighed again as I sipped my coffee. I'm going to research everything about pokémon and battles today, screw my class. With that I went up to my room and opened up the laptop, the first place I went was Poképedia, the complete Pokémon encyclopedia available on the internet.

Well the website was helpful to say the least, I learned a lot in just a few minutes, like there are 18 different pokémon types which have been discovered as of yet. There are innumerable number of pokémon species present through out the world, with new species being discovered everyday, the profoundness of the knowledge present on pokémon was astounding.

 _Although type advantages are important in pokémon battles, what's more important is the effort that the trainer and pokémon put which ultimately decides the winner of the battle, for example, there's a pokémon battle between a Blastoise and a Charizard, if say the Charizard is on a higher level and trained more competently than the former water type then Charizard can defeat Blastoise even at a type disadvantage._ An article said.

 _Daniel Abraham finally speaks where he was after the Sinnoh's Champion title win._ This article particularly peaked my interest. I clicked on the article and opened it in the new tab.

 _After defeating the Elite four and Sinnoh Champion Cynthia Andrews, Daniel Abraham disappeared one and a half years ago, when the magnificent trainer was spotted on Atlantis Island, he was immediately asked by reporters on his whereabouts. He answered with the following statement._

 _"After defeating the Sinnoh Elite four and Champion Cynthia, I went to different places to train my pok_ é _mon further and to advance my capabilities even more, the battle between Cynthia and I was spectacular but I believe that one can always improve more, so I went to train myself and my pokémon in isolation."_

 _When the trainer was asked which places he had trained, during his tenure of disappearance. His reply like always was impressive._

 _"If I told you where I was, then there will be no fun in the mystery." He said this with a smirk. It will be incredible to say the least to watch Daniel Abraham at the PWC along with some of the best trainers in the world, and I'm sure all pokémanics will agree with me. An article by Clarence Seinfeld._

After reading this article I clicked on another interesting article which read:- _Will Ash S Ketchum add the PWC to his collection of championship trophies?_

 _Ash Satoshi Ketchum, the nineteen year old prodigy from the little and peaceful town of Pallet has recently set chaos in the world of Pokémon battles. After winning the title of Sinnoh Champion, the trainer has never looked back. His triumph at the Unova League set the world into a blaze and now just a few months back he has won the Kalos League, everything Ketchum touches is turning to gold, will his outrageous streak of winning continue in the PWC? We shall find out soon enough!_

Pokémon battling is more complex than I first presumed, initially I thought these were just violent fights but they are more complex, they have their own science and world of knowledge and I'm even more compelled towards them now. I opened CIT's student portal.

 _Student Name: Madelyn Mackenzie._ I wrote my name and logged in. My syllabus for the final semester was up, I chuckled. I saw my results for my previous semesters.

My GPA was always either 3.9 or 4.0. I looked at my results one last time to see if I was making a mistake, if I was being impulsive. I asked my heart and my brain once again and both of them didn't say anything. I proceeded with logging out of the student portal and closing my laptop.

* * *

"Sir we have heard news that Tenebrosity have started their activities all around the Johto region and we also have reports indicating unusual activity near Saffron City in Kanto."

"Send Ketchum to Johto, and contact Abraham and tell him to investigate the area around Saffron." A deep voice replied.

"Yes sir!"

* * *

He woke up to the vibration of his phone, he sighed and checked the time on the clock on his side table.

3 am. He sighed. "This better be important." He talked into the phone.

"It's nice to speak to you too. Ash." The voice replied from the other side. Ash swore he could feel his caller smirking.

"Lance?" He said with a yawn.

"Good morning, sweet heart." Lance said with a grin.

"Lance. Do you realize it's 3 am here in Hoenn." Ash said clearly annoyed.

"Wait, you're in Hoenn? I thought you were back in Pallet." Lance said. "What are you even doing in Hoenn?" The Dragon Master asked.

"Had some personal business." Ash replied.

"Personal hunh?" Lance said while grinning.

Ash sighed. "Will you get to the point Lance?"

"Okay, okay. We have reports of Tenebrosity sightings in Johto, we want you to investigate." Lance spoke into the phone.

"How urgent?" Ash asked.

"Code A." Lance replied.

"Okay, I'll be on my way in an hour, that okay?" Ash asked.

"Yes, that is fine. Later buddy." Lance said.

"Night." Ash said as he hanged up and buried his head in the pillow.

"Damn." He groaned.

* * *

2nd March, the beginning of my pokémon journey along the Johto region. As I sat in the MRT, I thought of my life till this point. Originally from Cerulean in Kanto, I moved to Saffron when I was 10, because my dad had to set up his accounting firm. Before being a successful businessman, my dad was a frontier brain, that's right a frontier brain and Absol was one of his most powerful pokémon, though it has been ages since this little cutie battled. I did my junior and high school from Saffron and graduated with grades so incredible that I got accepted in CIT.

I sighed as I stroked the fur on the dark types head.

"Today is the beginning of our first adventure together Absol, are you ready?" I asked my dear pokémon.

"Sool!" It roared in ebullience.

I had already went on ahead and called Professor Elm, he promised he would make arrangements for my starter and pokédex, you can't challenge the leagues without a pokédex. I know I have to work hard, four times harder than a normal starting trainer because I'm almost twice the age as one.

 _"It's never about how many pokémon you have. It's about what you do with your pokémon and how you train them that decides your skill as a trainer, even if you just have six pokémon and train them exceptionally well then you can be the best."_ I remembered the words of my best friend, who nowadays is one of the best trainers in the world.

So i knew I don't need many pokémon. I just need a few and work hard with them. In the end it is my hard work and the bond with my pokémon which will decide my ability as a trainer. I will work hard, it will be very different than studying I know but dad always said whoever puts effort in their work or in their aim, they are always rewarded. The train was just a few minutes away from New Bark Town. Soon I'll have my starter. Honestly I'm still confused on who to choose but I guess it'll be on the spot.

* * *

New Bark Town. Such a beautiful and peaceful place, the fresh smell of leaves and flowers in the spring overwhelmed me as a cool breeze kissed my face. The serenity which surrounded the atmosphere around this little town was magical. If I were to ever settle down, I would like to settle down in a place like this, it reminded me so much of Pallet Town. When I was young I visited Pallet a few times and it was just as peaceful as this town. It didn't take me long to find Professor Elm's Laboratory. It was an impressive building, compared to the rest of the town, it spread around miles, heading towards the forest. After climbing a few stairs I rang the bell.

The door opened. "Hello?" A young teenager around the age of 15 came out. He was around 5 feet 7. With curly black hair and eyes of the same color. He was wearing a buttoned up lab coat over some khakis, and a black tee shirt beneath.

"Hey." I replied back.

"How can I help you?" He replied.

"Uhhh. Well I'm here to see Professor Elm." I said rather awkwardly. For a second I thought I saw something sparkle in his eyes, he had a sudden realization.

"Ohh you're Madelyn." He said scratching his chin. I nodded.

"Well Miss Madelyn, I'm Professor Elm's assistant, my name is Carl. Please come in the Professor will be with you in a few minutes." He said and then courteously opened the door for me, I smiled in return and went inside.

"Please take a seat, I'll call the Professor for you." He said and I nodded and sat down on the couch.

Carl disappeared in one of the rooms and another man emerged. He was in his late thirties, tall around 5 feet 9, his light brown hair were rather a mess, he wore a blue dress shirt and brown colored pants with brown shoes, with an overall lab coat. I recognized him from one of the articles I read.

"Hello Professor Elm." I stood up and greeted him with a smile.

"Why hello! You must be Madelyn." He said with a kind smile as he gently shook hands with me.

"Madelyn come on follow me." He said as I began to follow him in one of the rooms. There were different machines and computers present there, with the place stacked full of books and research papers, there was a computer connected to a machine which was used to heal pokémon.

Professor Elm handed me a 5 inch smartphone like device which was black colored and had a large white pokéball symbol on it.

"Here this is your Pokédex, it has your trainer ID mentioned on it too, this is your key to registering for any pokémon league around the world.

"Thank you!" I said with delight.

"But I'm afraid we have a small problem." Elm said.

"What kind of problem?" I asked solemnly.

"We couldn't get the usual three starter pokémon for you to choose. The thing is that the season began back in January, so most of the starter trainers chose their pokémon back then, and we were short. The last batch of starter trainers went away in mid February.

"Oh." I was very disappointed but then again I had Absol with me too. "It's okay Professor Elm! I have my father's Absol too, in a way he's my starter." I said with a smile.

"Oh that's truly wonderful, Absol is a rare and incredible pokémon, but I still have a pokémon you can take with you, this pokémon is very rare in the Johto region and is mostly found in Kalos. We found it injured in the forest and nursed it back to health." Professor Elm spoke.

"What is it?" I asked. Elm took out a small pokéball from his pocket and enlarged it and then he touched the middle button after a flash a small, young and orange fox like pokémon appeared.

"It's a Fennekin." I said before the Professor told me.

"You know what it is?" Professor Elm asked me with a look of amazement.

"Yeah I did a lot of research before coming over here." I said earnestly, and also having an eidetic memory helps too. I mentally smirked.

"It's so cool!" I exclaimed unable to control my exuberance. I petted the little fox as it growled cutely.

"Hello little guy, I'm Madelyn. You and I are partners now." I said as I petted the fox's ears. It cooed in response and licked my hands.

"Well he likes you." Professor Elm said to me.

"Yeah I know and hey it's a he." I said as I couldn't stop smiling.

"Well Madelyn, here are your six pokéballs." Elm handed me the tiny little balls and put them in my pocket. I also returned Fennekin to its ball.

"Hey Professor Elm, can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"Yes, please do." He replied with the same gentle smile.

"Do you think I'm too old to start a journey?" I asked.

He was silent for a few seconds then he smiled. "Madelyn age is just a number, don't worry you're not too old, I've seen people start their pokémon journey at thirties and forties as well. Passion has no age dear and you shouldn't let something like that bother you." He said to be sweetly.

"Thank you Professor Elm!" I replied to him, I really did need some motivation and he gave it to me.

"You're welcome and you also have my number, you can always call me when you need anything." He said and I nodded.

"I will, I'll be off now." I told him and we said our farewells.

"So it begins." I said to myself as I started walking towards the outskirts of the town.

* * *

 **So the first chapter is over, I hope all of you enjoyed it, this story will also contain mild Advanceshipping and other shippings and some mature themes. Please Review and leave your feedback, don't forget to Favorite and Follow!**


End file.
